gya / ぎゃ
The first GY combined kana — ぎ plus a small ゃ becomes 'gya'. Anchors 'reverse' (逆 gyaku) and the universal Japanese scream sound (ぎゃー!).
Pronunciation
The compound character ぎゃ represents the syllable 'gya', formed by combining ぎ (gi) with a small ゃ. The dakuten on ぎ voices the consonant from 'k' to 'g'.
ぎゃ is ぎ (gi) plus a small ゃ (ya). Together they make a single syllable /gya/. It anchors 逆 (gyaku, "reverse / opposite"), 逆転 (gyakuten, "reversal / turnaround"), 逆効果 (gyakukouka, "counterproductive effect"), and the universal Japanese scream sound ぎゃー (gyaa) — heard in manga and anime to express shock, pain, or terror. ぎゃーぎゃー (gyaagyaa) means "crying loudly / making a fuss". Word-initial ぎゃ is a crisp /gya/.
How to write ぎゃ
Trace ぎゃ on the canvas at the top of the page. Animated arrows show each stroke's direction; trace along them and the stroke fills in. Each numbered step below explains what that stroke does.
Write ぎ exactly: four strokes for き (two horizontals, a curving vertical, a small hook) plus two for the dakuten ゛ — six strokes total.
Write a small ゃ next to ぎ, tucked into the lower right. Stroke 7 is a short slanted dash; stroke 8 is the looping body; stroke 9 is the tiny upper-right accent. Keep ゃ at roughly half the height of ぎ.
Origin
ぎゃ is the written combination of ぎ (き + dakuten ゛, from 幾 ki) and a small や (from 也, ya). The /gya/ sound is rare in native Japanese vocabulary outside 逆 — but its onomatopoeic use as the universal scream sound makes it instantly recognizable from manga and anime.
Common words starting with ぎゃ
Printable practice sheet
Print this worksheet to practice writing ぎゃ by hand — the top row shows the stroke order to trace, then fill the blank squares.
Lock it into memory
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